Date Night
by Syberian
Summary: Sure, the way Aurelia acted about the whole ordeal was pretty suspicious. But why be the ones to pass up an offer for a free date? [Zer0/Athena][Story Completed]
1. Chapter 1

Calm, gentle winds blew over his face as Zer0 shut his eyes and let out a light sigh. Receiving a squeeze from the fingers entwined with his own, he glanced beside him and saw Athena with the same expression on her face: completely peaceful and relaxed, something he rarely saw. Her legs were pulled up to her chest and held in place by her right arm, chin laying on her knees. She stared blankly out at the hills, eyes glazed over and quietly humming a fabricated tune.

"Something wrong?" Zer0 returned the squeeze with his own, tightening his fingers on her hand.

"Hmm?" She turned her head to face him. "Oh, uh. No. Nothing's wrong."

"Positive?"

"Just thinking about some things." She shrugged and looked around. "I'm actually kinda surprised that there's no stalkers around here."

Looking around, he found no sign of stalker nests in the rolling green flats of the Highlands. Save for the occasional coo of the threshers by the dam, the area was completely bare. Exempt of life except for them.

"They build in cliff sides."

"Why?"

"Easier to expand them. Flat land wouldn't work."

Athena nodded, considering and agreeing with it. Slowly, she began to rub circles against his thumb with her own. "And threshers are plants, so it would make sense that they live near a source of water."

"Wait, threshers are plants?" He cocked his head to the side.

"Were you not aware of that?"

Zer0 shook his head. "I assumed they were large worms."

"If they're worms, then explain to me why a few have tentacles and some can suck you into them like Hyperion Singularity grenades," she deadpanned.

"You... have a fair point."

"I also know because Hammerlock mentioned they were a type of plant on Elpis." She cleared her throat. "When I was employed by Jack."

"Were they just as annoying?"

"Even more so." She chuckled lowly. "I remember that Timothy kept being sucked into the methane pools while we tried to pick up the little ones. Didn't know at the time we had to freeze them until Hammerlock pointed it out." She lifted her free hand up and brushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face. "The parent threshers were very protective of their young."

"Some things never change," he mused.

"Yeah." Athena nodded. "Yeah, you could say that."

Averting his eyes from the her, Zer0 glanced at the flats. Elpis was just barely showing through the daylight, a dim gray sphere in the distance. The gentle breeze had stopped, and with it returned the near overbearing heat of the Highlands. It didn't help that the region was located next to the Dust, a vastly large mountainous desert that could reach extreme temperatures during the planet's hottest season. However, somewhere in the air, he felt that thick blanket of humidity.

"It will rain tonight," he blurted out.

"You sure about that?" Athena asked rather skeptically.

She was correct to be skeptical, as even he was rather doubtful on whether or not his weather prediction would be correct. Looking up into the sky, he saw a few wisps of light gray clouds approaching over the horizon, soon to form into large thunder clouds that would drench the Highlands in rain.

"It will be a thunderstorm."

From his peripheral vision, he could see Athena cock her head to the side.

"How can you tell?"

Zer0 breathed in deeply, taking in a warm breath of air. "The humidity."

Turning back to face her, he noticed that she had a face of confusion. Her eyebrows furrowed, jaw set tightly as if she had been angered by someone or thing, and her eyes were glazed over, an indication that she was in thought. Leaning down, he softly pecked her cheek, stirring her from her thoughts as she lifted her free hand up and placed it over the spot.

"Just trust me on this/ It might rain, it might not rain/ I could just be wrong," he assured her. "We can't know right now/ Not until night has fallen/ Don't worry of it."

Athena inhaled deeply, turning to face him and nodded. "If you're sure about it, Zer0."

"I'm not," he stated bluntly.

"That's… that's very reassuring."

Zer0 smiled and winked at her. "I do try."

She rolled her eyes, but a small smile adorned her face. "Be quiet."

"As you wish."

A comforting silence covered them as their conversation halted. Still smiling, he unentwined their hands and slung his arm over her shoulder, attempting to pull her closer as he did so. Athena, not resisting, slid over towards him. Slouching slightly to allow her to rest her head on his shoulder, he leaned over and kissed the top of her head.

"You know," she began, looking up at him. "We should come out here more often."

"We come here daily."

She shook her head. "No, no. I mean, we should come here like how we are now. Just relaxing, no enemies to kill, no blood covering us, no distractions."

"You know, you're a distraction," he whispered slyly.

"Shut up."

"Just stating the facts." He smiled.

"Okay, but I'm serious." Athena rolled her eyes. "We should do this more often. No distractions, no people trying to kill us. Just us and the Highlands."

"Just... us," he repeated slowly.

"Yeah. Just us. No one e-"

"Athena, darling!" Someone interrupted.

Instincts took over as he slid his arm off Athena's shoulders and quickly picked up his mask to the side of him, slipping it over his head and pushing the clasps back in place. Athena reflexively turned around, towards where she had been called.

Turning around, he noticed a lone figure, standing significantly taller than Athena but slightly shorter than himself, approaching them. Arms swinging at its sides, posture straight, and an undefined purpose in each footstep. A person full of confidence and brass if he ever saw one. A royal blue fur coat that was unzipped to reveal the white shirt underneath was almost instantly recognizable.

"Athena!" It called out again.

She perked up at the sound of the voice being called again. "That's Aurelia." She lifted her hand up in acknowledgement. "Aurelia!"

Aurelia turned towards them, having previously faced nearly the opposite direction of where they sat. Upon noticing them, she smirked.

"Ah, darling," she greeted as she quickly walked over. "I've been looking for you."

"I've been here almost all day."

"And you had no reason to tell me?" Aurelia asked, feigning hurt in her voice.

Athena's eyes narrowed slightly. "You had no reason to know."

"Touché." Aurelia faced him, seeming to have just noticed his presence. "And, hello..." She paused, bringing a hand to her chin in thought. "Zer... 0?"

"Hello," he greeted curtly, slightly irked at the lack of knowledge about his simple name.

"And how are you two this fine day?"

She turned away from them, hands clasping behind her back as she faced the direction opposite of them, staring out into the distance.

"Do you really care?" Athena leaned forward, almost intimidatingly. "Or are you just bored?"

"Oh, darling. How dare you accuse me such egregious boredom!" Aurelia scoffed. "Athena, I'll have you know that I have been bored once in my life."

"You took a vacation and met Handsome Jack because of it." Athena's eyes narrowed. "I'll ask more succinct this time. What are you doing here?"

Aurelia paused and took a deep breath, turning to face him and Athena.

"Just straight to the point, I suppose." She sighed. "You're no fun anymore, darling." She cleared her throat and smiled. "Have you heard any of the wondrous gossip over the ECHOnet as of recent?"

"You know I haven't."

"Ah, so you have no knowledge of the space station I built over Pandora?"

"You did what now?" Athena asked.

Aurelia ignored her question with the wave of her hand. "A lovely restaurant if I say. Complete with the galaxies best cooks, servants, and free labor."

"Why did you build it?" He asked curiously.

"The executives on the Helios Space Station would pay anything to get something more delicate than lunch meat and water." Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "But alas! Who would deliver to them other than me? So I committed myself to this project and delivered."

"It doesn't seem like you will receive as much as you gave," Athena pointed out skeptically, crossing her arms over her chestplate. "It must have cost a fortune to build the station."

"Pocket change."

Athena sighed. "I forget sometimes that you're ridiculously rich."

"Why are you telling us this?" He asked.

"And this is where you two come in!" Aurelia laughed. "I want you to be the first people in the station."

Athena snorted. "As what? Bodyguards?"

"I wish." Aurelia sighed. "But not for this."

"Well… what do you need us for then?"

"Darling, I want you two to experience a date."

Immediately, Zer0's eyes widened and his breathing hitched. Athena seemed to be just as shocked as he, her mouth slightly agape and her eyes wide. She lifted a hand and scratched the back of her neck, turning her eyes to the ground as she struggled to find words.

"I'm sorry, but what?" He blurted out.

"You heard me. I want you two to experience a date on the elegant restaurant I had built," Aurelia responded.

"W-Why?" Athena stuttered.

"Darling, the others may not notice it, but I do." She pointed at the two of them with her index and middle finger before crossing them. "How they don't know constantly surprises me. You don't really try to hide it."

Athena's face reddened and suddenly he found heat prickling at the back of his neck and cheeks. They truly hadn't been trying to hide their relationship, but the obliviousness of the other Vault Hunters and citizens of Sanctuary had kept them out of the loop. The only other person who might have known about it was Moxxi; though this was quite obvious as she nearly knew about everything involving someone's personal life.

"How did you find out?" Athena managed to say without a stutter in her voice.

"As I said, you don't try to hide it," Aurelia pointed out slyly. "You hold hands, I've seen you kiss, and you're both fairly protective of one another." She looked directly at him. "And yes, I do know what you look like under your silly mask." She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. "Why, while I was coming to find you, I had assumed you two had ran off to have copious amounts of sex."

He choked on his spit as he heard this and wrapped a hand around his neck, coughing. Looking at Athena from his peripheral vision, he saw that she had pulled her scarf over her head and was tugging the edges of it, trying to cover her scarlet red face. Her contrasting blue eyes were wide and her lips were pursed together.

"Now, now. Don't be embarrassed by my words. Be glad that I didn't catch you in the act." Aurelia smirked slyly, arms crossing over her chest.

"Aurelia, please," Athena whispered. "Shut up about that."

"_C'est la vie_, I'll be quiet now," She paused and stared devilishly at her. "As long as you will be in bed."

"Aurelia, _please_," Athena begged. "Please just shut up."

Aurelia held up her hands in a forfeiting manner, but still retained the irritating devilish smirk on her face. Her icy blue eyes glared mischievously at the both of them, seeming to feel accomplished over the effect of her words. She cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her chest once more.

"Now. Would you like to go on a… date? Do you call them 'dates'? On the restaurant space station I built?" Aurelia asked.

"Why us? Why not bring someone else up there?" Athena lowered her hands from her still red face.

"Darling that is for me to withhold and for you to never find out."

There was a tense moment of silence as they considered. Athena looked up at him, questioning his decision through her eyes. His answer was a simple shrug, not really caring if they did go or not. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose with her right hand. Brushing some of her hair out of her face, she looked back up at Aurelia.

"I… I suppose we wouldn't mind… if we went," Athena concluded, nodding while she did so.

"Excellent!" Aurelia quickly strolled past them, going back the way she came. "Meet me here in a few hours for your ride!"

Athena turned around. "Wait! What ride?!"

"Darling it is on a space station! Did you forget?" Aurelia called behind her.

She turned back around and began to awkwardly rub the back of her neck. Zer0, feeling bad for her, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. She rested her head against his chest and inhaled deeply. Exhaling slowly, she looked up towards him and began to fiddle with the clasps of his mask.

"Why do I feel like I made a mistake?" She whispered to him.

He shook his head. "You didn't make one/ Everything will go smoothly/ We'll go on this… date."

"Do you even know what a 'date' is?" Athena asked.

"Nope."

"Well, this evening will go wonderfully then."

**Author's Note: This is why I haven't updated "Owl" in the past four weeks or so. I don't usually work on two stories at once (and when I do, the other story that I work on is a one-shot), but I decided to make an exception after somewhat discussing this, rather vaguely, with CGAdam. I just wanted to try my hand at this and I'm honestly having a lot of fun doing it. So, "Owl" won't be updated at all (and if it is, it'll just be a surprise) while I work on this for the next few weeks. But, hey, it's another Zer0/Athena story, so I'm happy to work on it. Beta-read by Foryewhoartliterate. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

The ride was just as bumpy and nauseating as Zer0 had expected. The constant rocking of the ship nearly caused him to hunch over and clutch his stomach. The only ones that didn't seem affected were Aurelia and Athena, who both held a relatively calm expression the whole ride as if they weren't affected by the turbulence. Only when they docked did he relax his muscles and release his death grip on the arms of the chair.

Aurelia immediately stood up. "Come along. We're here, darlings."

Athena nodded and rose, walking towards him with both an amused and worried look on her face. "You okay?"

He gave a weak nod and got up shakily, almost considering leaning on her for support. Taking a few deep breaths to calm nerves, he walked towards the exit after Aurelia, Athena following close behind.

The space station wasn't as large as he had expected when he first glanced at it out of the porthole. Granted that view was from a distance, but a little underwhelming nonetheless. This didn't account for the inside of the station.

Zer0 stopped as soon as he set foot inside the docking bay. A large glass dome acted in place of a ceiling, and he craned his neck upwards to look out into the cosmos, enthralled by the shimmering stars and the contrasting endless void of space; a canvas of black and specks of white. Glancing beside him, he found that Athena had passed him, continuing after Aurelia and ignoring the mesmerizing view altogether. Quickly, he jogged after them, a little miffed that they would dare ignore such natural beauty, but understanding that they had probably seen this already on Elpis; the current picture a simple repeat of the original.

"That was the central docking bay," Aurelia explained as they walked along a long ornate hallway, paintings decorating the wall and golden lamps giving off light.

"'Central'? There's more?" Athena walked up beside her.

"Yes, darling. While it may not seem so, there are at least three other, slightly smaller docking bays reserved for V.I.P. guests or those who can pay for the specialty."

"And the station?" Zer0 kept in pace slightly behind Athena, making sure to keep his eyes on her.

From what he could see, she seemed distracted, maybe even a bit uneasy as well. Shoulders tensed, footsteps light, she turned her head every which way as if trying to find something, but to no avail. A little worried, he quickened his pace slightly.

"Top of the line, as always. The only other ship in this galaxy created of the same materials is the Helios Space Station. Too bad it's run by the poors of this galactic system." Aurelia sighed. "I have the right mind to just buy the station and tear it down myself, but that's much too norm and unworthy of me."

Zer0 walked up beside Athena, hand reaching out and gently grabbing her wrist. She turned her head and looked up at him, only receiving a question mark in return.

"This is all very fascinating, Aurelia." Athena turned back to look in front of her. "But what does this have to do with us?

"Darling, am I not allowed to gloat every once in a while?" Aurelia halted and faced them.

"Not when every other thing spoken is a brag," Athena replied easily.

Aurelia shrugged. "Someone's being very irritable this evening. Any particular reason why, darling?"

Athena looked unsteady on her feet. "We're wanted criminals by the Hyperion Corporation." She paused and looked around, continuing her nigh fruitless search. "This station doesn't seem very secure."

Aurelia laughed. "Darling, we're neighbors with the whole of Hyperion. I know that feelings are rubbed wrongly and that some wounds are still fresh so I took extra... precautions."

Soon after, she turned back around and began to walk back down the hallway, leaving him and Athena to catch up.

"What kind of precautions?" Athena asked.

Aurelia turned her head so that they could see the mischief in her eye. "Darling, where is the fun in revealing the secrets of everything to you?"

Athena reluctantly nodded. "Right…"

"Where are we going?/ You have yet to explain that/ Or anything else," Zer0 piped up, thoroughly confused.

Not receiving an immediate response, they continued walking in silence, passing numerous corridors leading off deeper into ship and boundless closed doors. He hadn't seen another living person on the ship since their arrival at the docking bay and, from what he could guess, that was close to twenty-six minutes ago.

"You're going to changing rooms."

"We're what now?" Athena asked, confused.

"Changing rooms, darling. You mustn't wear such hideous clothes for your date," Aurelia answered.

"I don't understand. What will we be wearing then?" he asked.

"Oh, I have outfits picked out already. You just need to see my designers so that a few measurements can be made to adjust them accordingly."

"Outfits? What outfits?" He looked down at Athena who only seemed just as unaware and confused as him.

"Darlings, this is a restaurant with the sole intention of utmost elegance."

The hallway finally ended into a large, spacious room. It was rather bleak and gray compared to the bright, shining sections of the station they had seen and walked through. However, unlike the docking bay, this room had a large, rectangular glass window right across from where they had entered; the same picture still plastered on the panes. Three closed, gray doors appeared on both sides; two on the right and one on the left, abruptly ending any further progress that could be made.

"You'll need to dress up," Aurelia clarified as she walked towards the middle of the room.

Uncertainly, he looked down at Athena. She was biting the inside of her cheek, her eye glazed and eyebrows furrowed in thought, and her left index finger tapping against the side of her thigh. Lowering his hand more, he entwined his fingers with her own, giving a reassuring squeeze.

"Darlings, are you coming?" Aurelia called behind her.

"Yes," Athena answered.

They walked over towards the taller woman and stood in front of her. A moment passed before Aurelia cleared her throat and smiled.

"Now, as I said before, I have your outfits picked out already,"

"What outfits?" Athena asked. "What's wrong with what we currently wear?"

"Darling, you will not be wearing such dirty, gauche clothes in such a high-scaled restaurant," Aurelia scoffed. "The outfits I have picked out are _much_ more sophisticated."

"You haven't explained what they are."

Aurelia smirked. "My original intentions were to have my private troop of designers create much more fashionable, beautiful versions of what you currently wear." She gave out a small chuckle. "But, I thought against it at the last second and decided to go with the classical approach. After all, sometimes the most simplistic is the most dashing."

"What's the most simplistic?"

"A dress and tux," Zer0 answered her, interrupting Aurelia just as she was about to speak.

He didn't have to look at Athena to know she probably had a disgusted and baffled look on her face. He himself felt a shiver of discontent as he thought of the idea of removing his suit to wear something so unprotected and uncomfortable. Aurelia, on the other hand, smiled even larger and nodded in confirmation, clearly in joy over their realization of just what they would be forced to wear.

"A... dress?" Athena said, almost as if she was testing the words on her tongue. "A dress."

"You heard your boyfriend correctly, did you not, darling?" Aurelia asked, but he could see the mischief and even possibly sadism in her confident eyes.

"Yes, I heard Zer0 correctly," Athena growled. "But, seriously. A dress?"

"Why, I could force you to wear nothing," Aurelia said innocently. "It wouldn't take that much effort after all."

Pink washed over Athena's face and neck; even he felt heat prickling at the back of his neck at the thought of it. Aurelia smiled at them, knowing the effect of her words and obviously pleased at seeing them. She unquestionably knew how to easily get under their skin and push all the right buttons.

"N-nevermind," Athena finally stuttered out after a few minutes of contemplation.

"Oh, I'm happy you could agree." Aurelia clapped her hands. "Now, you will both be taken to different rooms so that your clothing can be form-fitted."

A rather burly, balding man wearing a tuxedo walked out of the door on the left wall. From what could be seen, his face and hands were littered in various assortments of scars. His dull brown eyes looked over the both of them while he walked quickly towards them. Upon reaching them, even Zer0 felt a twinge of intimidation as the man was at least a clear six inches taller than him.

"Ah, Zer0?" Aurelia pulled his attention away from the man and to her. "This is Valjean, the man who designed your tuxedo."

"Sounds familiar." The words are out of his mouth before he has a chance to stop them.

Valjean looked angrily at him, brown eyes burning with a sort of hatred that he had only seen before in the psychotic marauders of the Badlands. His muscles tightened, teeth gritted as he waited for attack, and hand went straight for his belt, only to stop once he felt the empty space of where his sword would have been. A recently pushed aside memory of them leaving their weapons back in their shared apartment surfaced, and he found himself nearly groaning at his lack of remembrance and ignorance; his sword could easily be concealed, Xiphos and Aspis could not.

"_Je l'aime_," Valjean murmured to Aurelia.

Aurelia smiled. "He likes you. Wonderful!"

Valjean nodded in agreement. His angered expression turned into one of humour and amusement, possibly from his mistake at reaching for his absent weapon.

"_Est-ce l'homme que je suis en train?_" The question was directly to Aurelia.

"Yes." Aurelia nodded.

"What is he saying?" Athena asked the question that he was about to.

Valjean calmly cleared his throat. "I know little English."

"Valjean here natively speaks the most commonly used language of the bourgeoisie," Aurelia clarified, waving her hand in front of her face as if trying to dissipate her mistake of leaving them unaware.

"That is?"

"Something called 'French'." She visibly shuddered. "Whatever a 'French' is, it sounds horrendously typical."

Athena placed a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. "You speak it all the time."

"That's because I can and you cannot."

"Touché."

"_Mlle Aurelia?_" Valjean spoke up.

"Yes?" She turned her attention to him.

"_Puis-je commencer?_"

"Ah, yes! Of course, of course." Aurelia nodded her head and waved her hand in the direction of the left wall. "Go ahead."

Valjean faced him. "Come."

He turned away and began to walk to the door on the left wall, posture straight and arms swinging slightly at his sides. It was determination if Zer0 had ever seen it. Taking a step forward, he quickly turned his head towards Athena and gave a quick nod, a bright red smiley face going along with it. She returned it with one of her own and nodded as well, shoulders visibly relaxing from what was probably tenseness. A hand on her shoulder brought both of their attention away from each other and to Aurelia.

"You don't think you're not getting dressed up as well, do you?"

Athena shrugged her hand off. "I was hoping you'd have forgotten."

"Oh, no, no, no, no." Aurelia shook her head shamefully. "I wouldn't forget this." She faced him. "Valjean is waiting."

Turning around, Zer0 walked over to the door without sparing a glance behind him, feeling both of their eyes burning into his neck as he walked away. Valjean was waiting for him at the doorway, impatiently tapping his foot and fingers against his forearm. Once he had reached the doorway, the taller man motioned inside the room.

An amber yellow cloth measuring tape wrapped around his thin waist, calculating the circumference. A grunt passed from Valjean's lips as he held the tape in place with his thumb, eyebrows raising at what could have been an impossible measurement. For humans, that is. Pulling the clipboard out from underneath his armpit, he quickly wrote the numbers down and went back to work on measuring Zer0's arms.

"I guess you've done this before?" Zer0 asked, lifting his arms up.

Valjean nodded, placing one end of the measuring tape at his shoulder and rolling it out until he stopped at his wrist. He wrote a few more numbers on his clipboard afterwards. Zer0 took this moment to look properly around the room, surveying his surroundings like how he should have when he entered. Pieces of cloth hung from the walls on hooks, differentiating in color, length, and texture. A table, made of metal, was sloppily pushed into a corner, different tools of measurement laying on top of it.

"Many times," Valjean finally spoke his first words since closing the door of the room.

"Doesn't get boring?" He turned his attention back to him.

"No."

A silence that the both of them seemed to anticipate fell into place of a conversation, allowing the tranquility of the room to overlap what should have been noise. It seemed that both he and Valjean worked better in silence, keeping the sounds of the outside world from distracting them from their work. Zer0 continued to glance around the room while the tailor worked in silence. The few sounds came from the hum of the ship and scribble of the clipboard. It wasn't until Valjean tapped his shoulder and caught his attention did he finally notice the measurements were completed.

"Done."

"That didn't take long." A question mark appeared on his visor.

"_Je travaille rapidement_," Valjean answered smoothly.

He walked away and over to the table, throwing the clipboard beside him.

"Wish I knew what you just said," Zer0 murmured as he walked towards Valjean.

The taller man pushed a button underneath the table and a holographic screen popped up along with a digitized keyboard. A few keystrokes later and the table lit up in the bright blue digistruct light that he had long since grown accustomed to. Valjean pushed a single key, took a step back, and cracked his knuckles, obviously waiting for something. Picking up the clipboard that had been haphazardly thrown on the table, Zer0 noticed that it wasn't just a regular clipboard, but one with a similar holographic screen. Placing it back down, neatly this time, he turned his attention back to the digistructing item.

Curiously, he leaned over the table and watched as the garment of his tuxedo take form; first in a honeydew, transparent color. Then, it digistructed into full form: black jacket, white undershirt, and a… dark red tie?

"Uh… what's with the tie?" Zer0 asked as Valjean reached over and carefully picked it up.

"_Correspond à la robe de votre fille_."

"I'm sorry?"

Valjean sighed. "Matches dress."

Without a pause, he quickly shoved the tuxedo into Zer0's unsuspecting arms and pushed him over to the other side of the room, turning around after he had done so.

"Dress," he ordered.

Awkwardly, he looked down at the garb that had been shoved into his arms. Swallowing harshly, he sorted through the articles of clothing until he found the white tuxedo undershirt, hidden beneath the jacket. Contemplating, he finally set down the other two garbs at the feet. The slam of the door startled him slightly. Turning around, he found that Valjean had left the room, leaving him alone in what he could call his temporary sanctum.

Nimble fingers found the almost invisible clasps on his collarbone, pulling them free until he finally took his mask off. It took a few more minutes of fumbling and slight struggle before the ones located along the curvature of his spine were unclasped, allowing his chestplate to be removed. An instant feeling of bareness washed over him, causing him to nearly cringe at the thought of putting such unprotected clothing on.

Hesitantly, Zer0 slipped his arms through the arm holes, shivering at the thin material and how it barely blocked out the chill of the air conditioning. Buttoning the shirt, he noticed at how perfectly it fit him. The sleeves were the right length, the neckline didn't choke him, and the waistline stopped right below his hips. Picking up the tuxedo jacket while in thought, he quickly slipped it on and buttoned it. Reaching down for the last time, he found that the last garb was the tie, which he had no idea on how to wear.

Clutching it in his fist, he grabbed his chestplate and mask, walked over the table, and set them down on the surface. He wouldn't be able to wear his mask, not without his chestplate at least. Gritting his teeth together, he exhaled deeply and walked over to the door.

Before his hand reached the doorknob, it opened. Zer0, startled, jump back slightly, hand already reaching for his belt, but sighed once he remembered his absent weapon.

Aurelia stood proud and confident in front of him, eyes immediately scanning up and down his figure. Her nose wrinkled once she noticed his lack of dress pants, but she rubbed the bridge of her nose and walked into the room, Valjean behind her.

"Well, well. You cleaned up rather nicely, darling," she complimented, slowly walking around him, inspecting him.

"I feel naked, bare/ Is this what I'm forced to wear?/ Unprotected garbs?" Zer0 quipped, venomously.

"Yes, this is a restaurant of class after all," she retorted, the irritation dripping in her words. "_Dieu_! You're worse than Athena." She stopped in front of him, rubbing the bridge of her nose as if it would appease her growing anger and annoyance at them. "Even she complained about the dress I put her in."

"Understandable. She doesn't like this feeling." He gritted his teeth. "One that you forced on."

"Sparkling spring water under the golden bridge, darling," she scoffed.

"It is n-"

"_Mesdames! Mesdames! Vous êtes à la fois joli, d'accord?_" Valjean interrupted, presumably to stop the growing verbal argument between him and Aurelia.

He took the tie from Zer0's hand and quickly looped it around his neck, hands quickly tying it into a knot and pulling it up, a little too much so that it was uncomfortably pressed against his windpipe.

"There, you're all set for your date," Aurelia concluded.

Rubbing his neck and swallowing, he nodded and brushed past her to walk into the main room.

It was certainly different than from what he had last seen. A round table was placed in the center with candles and silverware adorning it. Whatever lighting had previously lit the room before had dimmed down significantly, giving off a rather romantic atmosphere. Aurelia walked up beside him, hands behind her back and chest puffed out slightly.

"I'm a little disappointed that Valjean didn't acquire dress pants for you," she admitted.

"There were to be some?/ I was only given this/ Not any trousers."

"I had asked him to digistruct you a pair, but apparently he had forgotten." She paused, almost as if trying to add suspension to her words. "Or so he has told me. Should never have hired him." She sighed, hand reaching up to rub the bridge of her nose once more. "Anyhow, Athena should be out shortly."

"Where is Athena? You have yet to tell me that."

She pointed across the room to one of the doors. He didn't know which one, as the darkened light allowed him to only see so far.

"She's getting dressed still. Almost had to wrestle her into her dress." She chuckled. "I cannot even joke about that. Who am I to wrestle Athena when she could so easily rip my arms off." She turned her head towards him. "You must truly be mad to have the initiative to consider being intimate with her."

"Mostly just patient," Zer0 confessed.

"Ah, I see." She slapped him on the back, causing him to tense at the sudden unwelcome physical contact. "Well, I'm sure she feels the same way. I think?" She tapped her finger against her chin. "I'm a little too busy being rich to worry of such menial things."

The door behind them closed and locked, leading Zer0 to jump slightly.

"Valjean has gone back to work," Aurelia explained. "Pay no heed to him."

"He's peculiar/ Mind entirely on work/ More machine than man."

"That's why I hired him."

A door across the room opened, leading him to stand straight and tall; attentive and aware; agog and keen. A mix of emotions that he felt himself feeling all at once, undefinably as he listed them in his head, but none unpleasant.

The first sound was… the clicking of heels?

"You made her wear heels?" It was out of his mouth before he could bite his tongue to suppress it.

"What is it you say? 'Go big or go home'?" Aurelia joked.

He noticed her darkened figure moving towards them, fiddling with something in her hair.

"I really hate this dress," she yelled at them.

"Come here, darling. No time to waste!" Aurelia called Athena over.

"I really, _really_ hate this dress," she repeated, much quieter this time.

"You've told me many times, darling." Aurelia sighed.

Finally, Athena had reached them. Unconsciously, his back straightened and his eyes widened.

A long, dark red dress flowed down to her forelegs and hugged her body, showing off her curvaceous figure. To his surprise, her shoulders were also clearly visible as well, giving a view of the scars speckling her skin. It must have taken more than convincing to put her in such unprotected and revealing wear. However, what did not puzzle him was the small braid in her hair; probably what she had originally toyed with.

She was absolutely stunning. Zer0 felt himself at a complete loss for words.

Athena looked him up and down, eyes showing the same emotions he must have been. The amount of surprise and affection dancing across them mirrored his own.

"You're absolutely gorgeous," he paused, trying to think of the correct words to say. "You're phenomenal."

"Not bad yourself," she complimented.

Her hands reached out and grabbed his own. An involuntary tingle went down his spine as her calloused fingers entwined within his own; the same thick, rough texture as they always had. As they always would be. Lips against his clothed collarbone, as far as she could reach him with or without her heeled boots on, and they slipped into their old pattern. His nose went into her hair, nearly disregarding the huff of annoyance and impatience from Aurelia, and breathed in deeply.

"Sorry," he muttered, half the apology to Athena and half to Aurelia.

"Don't be," Athena replied.

"Now then, since you're both as prepared as you can be." Aurelia clapped her hands and a male servant came out the third door holding two wooden chairs. He sprinted over to the table and quickly set them on opposite ends, bowed to Aurelia, and left just as fast as he came. "How about you begin?"

**Author's Note: Apologies for the long wait between this chapter and the previous. I haven't too much of an excuse that can be shared publicly other than private and public distractions. Anyways, this chapter was beta-read by CGAdam, who I can not thank enough for looking over it. Thank you for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Any regrets?" Zer0 asked, breaking the silence that had blanketed them as they appraised and observed each other.

Athena shook her head. "Do I regret going on a date with you in a space station in orbit?" She paused to let the question sink in. "No, this is... this is okay. I'm fine with this."

"Except for your dress."

"Yes." She lifted a hand and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Except for this dress." The light in her eyes gleamed dark and sinister. "I'm burning it the moment I take it off."

"Well, may I take it off then?" he asked, marking how a light blush appeared on her face. He chuckled and sighed. "You look amazing."

"You can compliment me a hundred times." She shook her head, the pink on her face slowly vanished. "I'm not wearing another one."

Zer0 shrugged. "Fine with me."

Athena looked up and down his lean figure, the dark look in her eyes turning into one of curiosity. "I like your suit." She smiled. "Looks nice on you."

Zer0 rolled his eyes and snorted. "Don't get used to it/ I'm not wearing another/ It's vulnerable."

Athena nodded. "Same. At least you're wearing parts of your armor."

"He forgot the pants," he explained, rubbing the palms of his hands over his knees, feeling the comforting roughness of his knee guards. "Not that I'll complain of it."

"Lucky you," Athena said sarcastically, eyes lowering to the white table cloth.

"You're irritated," he teased and watched as she lifted her gaze back up at him with an annoyed look.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes."

They both stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move or say something. The silence of the room was only broken by the ever present hum of the ship, a sound only recently noticed upon the pause in their conversation.

Taking this opportunity, Zer0 continued his interrupted observation of her. Sinewy muscle, scars in all shapes and sizes, and the roughness of her skin were very prominent. Looking up at her face, but not looking into her eyes, he suspected that she had been coaxed into putting makeup on, though it was hard to be certain in the dim lighting. Taking in a deep breath, he smelled a distinct, foul contrast of perfume clouding over her usually sweet, cinnamon smell; he almost wrinkled his nose in disgust. His gaze drifted upwards, eyes immediately catching sight of the small braid in her hair, the design familiar as he remembered that Tina had taught her how to braid it, and how he had been used as Athena's practice dummy on more than one occasion. He smiled at this, fondly recalling the countless nights they would get distracted in their conversations and her fingers would inadvertently tangle in his hair, many times entwining it into small braids before the two of them had noticed.

"Having fun staring at me?" Athena asked, the tease in her voice blatantly obvious.

"I can't lie, can I?"

"No."

"In that case, I enjoyed it," he admitted, taking note at how Athena raised her eyebrows at his blunt confession. "Don't be so surprised."

She smiled. Movement caught his eye and he briefly looked down at her hands to notice her thumbs rubbing together; a habit that she acquired to indicate she was abashed. "I just wasn't expected you to be so acerbic, Zer0. Taking after Aurelia, are we?"

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "You are far from close/ I refuse to be like that/ She's a grim woman."

"Honestly, I can't agree with you more," she admitted. "But she did do this for us."

"And insulted us. Plus, she teased us about our…" He struggled to find the words for a few moments, mouth hung open and hand flailing around in the air. "Sexual exploits."

Athena's face lit up in red, and she nodded in agreement. It wasn't every day that a person so easily managed to say the correct words needed to cause the two of them to go from a stoic pair to a tongue-tied, crumbling mess.

"Aurelia has a…." Athena bit her lip and closed her eyes, a sigh escaped through her nose. "Gift of knowing how to get under my skin."

"Make that mine as well/ How she does so eludes me/ She's an astute one."

"Couldn't agree with you more," she murmured.

They both stared at each other in awkward silence, the conversation brought to a clumsy end. For a few moments, Zer0 thought of words to speak in an attempt to revitalize their discussion, but gave up. The two of them were never good at verbal exchanges anyways.

He leaned back in his chair, eyes scanning the room in a wide arch. The confined space had begun to suffocate him, and gave him a feeling of restlessness. Uncomfortably, he tugged at his tie in a weak attempt to loosen the choke it had on his neck. Why Valjean had tied is so tightly was beyond him, though he wouldn't doubt irritation had a part in it.

"We're bad with conversation," Athena confessed what they had both been pondering.

"Yes, we really are."

"Well…" she began, but stopped short. "What do you want to talk about?"

Zer0 hummed in thought and his gaze drifted towards the window. The most immediate object that caught his attention was the Helios moonbase, a behemoth space station that was the pride of the Hyperion corporation. Light shone from its surface in blues, whites, and purples. A distant explosion at the rear end of the station caught his eye, but the assumption of it being the automated defense system allowed it to stray out of his thoughts. A chill ran up his spine as he suddenly felt irritably weak and small against it, so close and yet so far away that he felt he could touch it if he pressed the palm of his hand against the glass.

"The Helios space station," he murmured under his breath, not expecting Athena to hear him.

"What do you want to know about it?" Her tone had suddenly went defensive.

He looked back at her, and saw her posture had straightened, her muscles had tightened, and there was a wary look in her eyes. Immediately, he lifted his hands, not in a defensive, protective way, but as an attempt to calm her down.

"Nevermind, 'Thena," he answered.

No, no." She shook her head. "You want to know."

"Are you positive?"

"Yes."

He swallowed for a moment, eyes drifting back out of the window. Despite her reassurance that it was okay to talk about the moonbase, he still heard and felt the edge in her voice. The type that raised the hair on the back of his neck in alarm and caused him to grit his teeth together.

"Why not tell me anything? Everything you can."

"This'll be a long talk, then." Athena raised her eyebrows.

"Isn't that the point?"

She leaned back in her chair, apparently mulling over her thoughts. A sigh escaped through her nose after a few moments. She leaned back towards him, elbows pressing against the table.

"The inside of the station is enormous, even more so than this one." She waved a hand around the room, motioning the entire station that they found themselves in. "From what I saw, workers usually had their own offices." Her expression soured. "Though, that probably changed now."

Her gaze drifted from him towards the window. Already knowing what she was staring at, he waited for her to continue. A few minutes passed and her eyes skittered back and forth continuously.

"That thing in the middle of the station was the Eye of Helios." She pointed out the window towards the station. "It is… _was_ a giant laser beam with the power to crack and destroy planets."

"The Eye of the Destroyer. A Vault Guardian."

"Yeah, sure," she agreed. "What you said. A 'Vault Guardian'."

"You've killed one before," he pointed out, eyebrows raising in interest. "The Eleseer Sentinel. A massive creature."

"A beast of many heads," she whispered to herself. "You've killed one before as well: The Warrior."

"A fire-breathing foe/ One that nearly killed me thrice/ And refused to die."

"Didn't you say you have a burn scar from him?" she pondered out loud.

"Yes, it's on my leg."

"Strange. Why haven't I seen it?"

"You're usually asleep then."

Athena raised her eyebrows in slight surprise. "Oh."

The lack of aloofness in the air didn't puzzle him. Instead, he smiled at their rambling, seeing as how it was the most they had talked nearly all night. A sudden thought popped up in his head and the smile disappeared from his face. Sighing, he leaned back in his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, no. Thanatos," he said promptly, noticing her confused expression.

Athena understood immediately as her eyes widened and she sat straight up, her mouth hung open as if she couldn't think of what to say.

"Can't believe_ I_ forgot about him." Her face went into her hands.

"I'm sure he'll be fine/ He's a few weeks old by now/ And protects himself," he reasoned, seeing her gray-blue eyes peek through her fingers.

"He's a _baby _stalker."

"Not just a stalker. The son of Voracidous," he reminded. "He'll handle himself."

Athena seemed to mull it over for a few moments, her eyes fluttering back in forth in thought as she bit the inside of her cheek. A twinge of desperation shuddered through him as even he didn't feel confident in their newest companion's survivability without them. They never let him stay in their apartment for more than four hours at a time without one of them being there to watch over him. He was an infant after all, barely sixty hours old when they originally found him.

"I… yeah, he'll probably be fine," she finally agreed, hand rubbing at the back of her neck. She looked up at him and nodded confidently.

Silence blanketed the two of them as they felt at lost at what to say to continue their conversation. The abrupt interruption of their previous conversation by him had left the two of at a loss of friendly banter, instead silently worrying.

A few minutes passed before Athena leaned back and looked behind her, obviously expecting something. Bewildered, he cleared his throat to catch her attention. Turning her head slightly, she looked at him.

"What are you doing?" Zer0 asked.

"Aren't we supposed to..." She stopped and thought for a few seconds. "Eat, or something?"

"No clue, you shouldn't ask me. I'm just as confused," he answered.

Looking down at the table, he noticed how there was a lack of silverware or any other eating utensil on its surface, an observation that had previously not been made. No one had come out to check on them for at least thirty minutes. Even with his very limited knowledge of "dates", he knew that there had to be some form of interaction that wasn't just talking to the other person. He glanced over her shoulder as well, watching for any sign that the door would be opened.

Minutes passed, and the only lives on the station seemed to be their own. Suddenly, there was a loud _bang!_ that startled him from his focus, his hands curling into fists as his heart pumped fast with adrenaline.

"What the world was that?" he growled, the tense muscles in his arms refusing to relax.

"Sounds like it came from the docking bay." Athena immediately stood up, a hand outstretched towards him from across the table.

Zer0 accepted the offer and grabbed her hand, chair squeaking against the floor from friction as he stood up. His gaze flickered away from her face and towards the door leading out into the corridors, already making his way towards it a moment later, Athena at his heels. His hand reached out and grasped the doorknob, almost surprised at how he managed to open, expecting it to have been locked.

Athena brushed past him, heels clacking against the floor as she rounded the corner, practically leaving him in the dust to follow. He had to jog for a few seconds to catch up with her brisk pace and watched as her eyes constantly darted around the hallway, almost as if she expected an assailant to come out of one of the many closed doors, brandishing a gun or a sword.

"Do you remember the way?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"If I didn't then you shouldn't be following me."

"Of course, my mistake."

They passed empty corridors leading off into other parts of the ship and multiple closed doors. Despite a few of them being open, he hadn't the time to let his curiosity get the best of him and peak inside, the rush to figure out where the explosion had originated from was more important than looking inside possibly vacant rooms. Despite Aurelia's best efforts to fully furnish this station in lavish decor, it was obviously not finished yet.

Zer0 looked in front of him at Athena, noticing her muttering underneath her breath. Concentrating he heard, "Left and then right. Keep going straight past three corridors and then take another right…"

He blinked in confusion for a brief moment, before smiling. She was simply repeating the directions that she had hardwired into her brain so that they could get back to the docking bay.

Seconds blurred into minutes. It felt like it was taking longer to return back to the docking bay than to leave it. Pauses were made every once in a while as Athena adjusted her heels, almost leading him to snicker at her situation. Why she chose not to take them off and ditch them was beyond him.

"Are we close?" he asked during one of their few breaks.

Athena nodded confidently, but he could see the worry, anger, and suspicion in her eyes.

They continued along, eyes watching for any indication of intruders on the ship. Finally, they rounded a corner and she opened a door. A sigh of relief escaped through his mouth as they entered the large room with a glass dome that was its ceiling.

"No, no, no!" A feminine, booming voice yelled from the other side of the room. "_Soulevez-le! Ne pas baisser!_"

The distinctive shrill of Aurelia's voice calmed his nerves slightly, though he would certainly never admit it to her. Athena followed the direction of the sound, and he was right behind her. Quickly, as they walked over, he glanced around the room. Pieces of the ceiling had fallen and littered the ground in differing spots, cracked or shattered. A few lights were stubbornly flickering on and off, trying to hang onto their lasts surges of power that shot through them. A large crack ran from the middle of the floor all the way to the left wall, spread apart ever so slightly so that it would trip him if he wasn't careful enough.

"Something happened here/ This room's in poor condition/ From an explosion," Zer0 whispered into her ear. He noticed her nodding, probably already coming to that assumption sooner than he had.

They rounded their transport shuttle, and saw Aurelia with two workers, both of whom were grasping chains and trying to pull a shutter open. Her expression was sour and her arms were across her chest, giving them a straightforward indication that she was irritated.

"Aurelia!" Athena called out, lifting a hand.

Immediately, he notice her mutter something under her breath and turn her head to look at them. She had put on a facade of a smile and walked over to them, arms pleasantly swinging by her sides with carefree. Instantly, his nerves were set ablaze again and his muscles tensed. Something was definitely wrong.

"Darlings! What are you doing?" Her tone had a tinge of vexation behind with. Not even her enjoyable front managed to mask it. "Is your date already over? So soon?"

Aurelia was blocking their view of the shutter with her body, arms behind her back. This only further caused him suspicion as he looked over the top of her head to see the two men struggling against the heavy weight of it, chains occasionally slipping from their hands. As he peered closer into the room that she apparently wanted to desperately get into, he noticed a large hole in the floor of it.

"We heard an explosion and we came to investigate," Athena explained.

"Athena, darling! The shutter to an unfinished part of the station simply closed before all of the workers could get out!" Aurelia chuckled. "I'm just trying to get it opened."

Athena's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I thought you didn't care about your workforce. After all, it is just free labor."

Aurelia's mouth hung open as she contemplated an answer. Finally, she laughed. "I have a few foremen on the other side of the station that I need. They helped design it after all."

"You've never seemed to care about anyone who works for you, a promising worker or not." Athena crossed her arms over her chest. "What's _really _going on?"

"Darling, I don-"

_ BEEP. BEEP. BEEP._

Before she could continue, her ECHO device went off. Quickly, she plucked it off and accepted the call.

"_Mlle Aurelia , ils ne sont pas dans la salle à manger plus!_" A man's voice quickly said over the line.

"Valjean," Zer0 piped up.

Aurelia laughed nervously at them. "_Valjean, Valjean. Ils sont ici avec moi._"

"_Je... Excusez-moi, madame_," Valjean said, the translation of the words lost to both his and Athena's ears.

Aurelia looked up at them, and then back down at her ECHO device. "_Nous avons un grave problème_."

"_Je pensais que nous avons fait. Je savais que ça ne vous tester les canons de défense._"

She covered her mouth for her response, but one word stuck out.

'Hyperion'.

While Aurelia was distracted, Zer0 nudged Athena with his elbow, her attention promptly turning towards him. He tilted his head upwards towards the dome, motioning towards the large 'H' that partially hovered over the station. Her eyes followed his movements, and she stiffened, eyebrows furrowing and eyes darkening.

"_S'il vous plaît me dire que tu te moques de moi en ce moment, Aurelia._" Valjean's voice held a pleading note to it.

Athena looked up at him in an expecting way, almost as if she wanted him to say something. He knew instantly from the look in her eyes and the impatient tap of her fingers against her biceps what it was. He shook his head in a declining manner, and she exhaled.

"_Valjean, je souhaite que je l'étais, mais je ne suis pas._"

"_Qu'est-ce qu'on fait?_"

"_Permettez-moi de comprendre cela._"

Zer0 wished he knew how to speak the language that they talked in secrecy in. It was obviously about the damage that had been taken to the station about Hyperion. Their frantic tones almost sealed the deal that they hadn't a clue of how to fix or solve what was happening. It almost made him pity them… almost.

"_Recevez Zer0 et Athéna pour aider!_"

Immediately, he perked up at the sound of his name, Athena doing the same from what he could see through his peripheral vision. Aurelia ended the call right there when she noticed the two of them hadn't returned back to their dining room. She looked at them, and smirked.

"Well, darlings. I hate to end your date so soo-"

"Hyperion," he interrupted.

Her expression turned into one of caution. It was as if her hand had been caught stealing from a jar of sweets.

"Whatever are you talking about?" she asked.

"Hyperion moonshot into this station, didn't they?" Athena wasn't ready to play games.

"What!? No!" Aurelia exclaimed. "What a blasphemous idea!"

"Aurelia."

Even though Athena's words weren't directed towards him, Zer0 still felt a shiver run down his spine at her commanding tone. Aurelia seemed fazed by this, as she bit onto her bottom lip and edgily chewed at it.

"Darlings, there is nothing that can't be handled here!" She tried to reassure them.

Unconvinced, they both looked at each other. "We can help deal with this problem."

"In those heels and dress?" Aurelia murmured to herself.

"I _heard _that," Athena growled. "And yes."

"Well, let's say that I _did_ have a problem that needed help dealing with. Then, I'd call you." She moved past them and walked over to their transport shuttle. "I believe it's time we left for Pandora. I _do _hate to end your date so, so soon, but I'm afraid I must."

They didn't budge from their spots, feet unmoving. Aurelia sighed and brought her hand up to her mouth, letting a shrieking whistle out. A group of men exited from a door and approached them. Instantly, he went into his stance, ready to attack. However, a hand at his arm stopped him, and he looked down to see Athena shaking her head.

"Not worth it," she said. "Might as well give her what she wants."

Zer0 grumbled in protest, but followed her into the shuttle. The interior of the ship was in top shape, as if the damage from outside hadn't affected it. Aurelia sat patiently in one of the chairs, waiting for them to sit down so that they could fly off. Hesitantly, he sat down beside Athena and crossed his arms, glaring at the woman across from him.

"Come now, darling. Don't look so grim," Aurelia pleaded with fake sympathy. "I'll let you come up here again on another date at another time."

He snorted. A sudden striking thought crossed his mind, causing him to sit up, startling the Baroness. "Our armor."

Athena's eyes widened as well. She sat up just as quickly as he had, preparing to leave the ship and return back to their changing rooms to retrieve their missing pieces alongside him.

Aurelia sighed and waved them to sit back down. "I will have your gauche clothing returned to you tomorrow."

Before they could protest, the shuttle lifted off and out of the docking bay.

**Author's Note: Beta-read by CGAdam. Like usual, fun chapter. Just one more to go and this story will be completed. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and thank you.**


	4. Chapter 4

It was dark in their apartment as they unlocked the door and entered. Moonlight filtered in through the window, lighting the single room in a mixture of purple, blue, and white. As Zer0 flipped on the lights, the most prominent object that immediately caught his attention was the large mound of blankets and sheets on the bed.

"We know where he is," he murmured to Athena, pointing towards the bed as she closed and locked the door behind them.

A snort caught in her throat as she turned her attention towards where he was pointing. Looking down at her, he noticed a smile barely gracing her lips as she stared at the mound on the bed, amused by Thanatos's sleepy antics.

"At least we know he's okay," she responded, the slightest hint of a chuckle in her voice.

Zer0 hummed in agreement and closed his eyes, soaking in the relaxing feeling of returning home. They had landed and dropped off at the original launch spot in the Highlands, rain drenching the ground into a soggy mush. They were lucky there were no threshers above ground, or there would have been a large problem since they hadn't any of their weapons on them. An irritated departure had been made, the both of them still irked at the temporary loss of their armor, and Aurelia was off again, back towards the station. The trip towards Overlook took little time, and fast traveling to Sanctuary even less. The combination of the late hour and rainstorm had made the trip to their apartment easy, at least. Most citizens were either drunk at Moxxi's or nestled comfortably in their homes to wait the storm out.

The sound of movement caught his attention, and he was shaken from his thoughts as Athena leaned down and unbuckled her muddy and wet heels, allowing her bare feet to pad on the concrete floor. She stretched her toes for a few seconds before turning her attention to him, an eyebrow raising at the smile on his face.

"What?" she asked innocently. "My feet were hurting."

"Oh, it's nothing, Athena."

She seemed unconvinced, but nonetheless smiled back at him. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around his torso, nose burying into his wet dress shirt, disregarding the smell of rain and wet grass that clung to him. Without her heels, the top of her head barely reached his shoulders, adding to the strain in his neck as he leaned down and buried his nose into her damp, cold locks of hair. The slight whiffs of cinnamon beneath the scent of fading perfume and dew intoxicated him.

Minutes of silence passed without a pause in their endeavor. They were so entwined with one another that they didn't notice the mound of blankets disentangling, and a small green creature drowsily slipping off the bed and onto the floor, making its way towards them. It wasn't until Zer0 felt something scratching at his forelegs, tiny claws digging into his suit and skin, that he took a step back from Athena and looked down.

Thanatos clawed at his leg, occasionally nipping and biting at the damp leather.

"I think he's angry," he joked, looking up at her.

"We _did_ leave him for a while."

He bent down and picked up the small stalker, holding his fingers out for him to nibble on. Thanatos continued to bite and gnaw at his fingertips, very painfully, especially with his lack of gloves. A few moments passed until he finally gave up and slumped in his hands.

"I think you tired him out," Athena said as she walked over to the table and tossed the keys on it.

Zer0 grinned and nodded, scratching the back of Thanatos's neck, knowing full well that it was a sweet spot for the stalker. "Easier for us."

"How so?" Athena walked over to the refrigerator and opened it, combing through the shelves." You hungry?"

"He'll stay out cold for the night." Zer0 turned his gaze away from Thanatos and towards her. "No, I'm not hungry."

"Good, we don't have much," she said, and closed the door, shivering slightly from the cold chill. "We'll have to go to Oasis for more fruit."

A simple thought crossed his mind that Athena was soaking wet, dripping rainwater onto the floor every few seconds. He mentally slapped himself once he realized that she was without a doubt cold. Their apartment's air conditioning had been turned on before they left that night and still hadn't been turned off. It was going on full blast from the single vent underneath the table.

"You need some dry clothes," he muttered half to her and half to himself.

"You do too."

He smiled. "I'll get the clothes, you take Than."

Athena nodded and walked over to the two of them. Once she stood in front of them, she looked down in her arms and gently stroked the scales along Thanatos's back with her fingertips, resting her forehead against his chest. Maneuvering the sleeping stalker into one arm, Zer0 slipped his now free arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer, successfully sandwiching Thanatos between them. This didn't seem to bother him, despite how cold and wet both of his "parents" were.

A second of stillness and silence passed before she slipped her hands underneath him and picked him up, causing him to stir slightly, but not awaken. She took a step back from him and walked over to the bed, him following close behind. The bed squeaked from her weight as she sat down.

Zer0 grinned and sat down on the floor, flinching slightly at the coldness. He waited a moment until he grew accustomed to it and then looked underneath the bed. There was a plastic, rectangular container that had been tucked away under the frame, hidden from anyone's sight unless they tried to look specifically for it. Reaching over, he hooked his fingers under the lid and pulled it out, going slowly so that the plastic scraping against the concrete floor didn't wake up the sleeping stalker. Even though Thanatos was probably out for the rest of the night, he still didn't want to risk accidentally waking him up.

He popped the lid and relaxed slightly at the contents inside. A few old, dark clothes that had been saved as sleeping wear for random or special occasions had been placed on top. A pair of black shorts that barely went to his mid thigh, an old pair of gray boxer briefs that he kept as spares, and a ratty white t-shirt that would be pulled high above his abdomen if he stretched his arms above his head. Picking out these clothes, he looked at what was underneath and grimaced.

"Athena, where's yours?" he asked her.

"Yours fit me, so I got rid of them," she answered.

Zer0 shook his head in disbelief and pulled the lid over the rest of the contents. With his foot, he pushed the container back under the bed and stood up, holding the shorts in one hand and the briefs and t-shirt in the other.

He paused for a few moments, contemplating. Finally deciding, he tossed the briefs and t-shirt onto the bed and the shorts onto the floor and slipped his dank dress jacket off his shoulders, shivering as the cold breeze of the room stung his skin through the shirt. The only problem with removing it was the tie, still tight around his neck. After a few minutes of tugging and pulling, and a few amused smiles from Athena, he gave up.

"Little help, Athena?" he asked, dropping down into his knees in front of her.

She smiled and reached forward, fingers carefully undoing the knot that Valjean had formed hours ago. Feeling the knot coming loose and her fingers gently caressing and massaging the spot where it had previously been, he breathed in deeply and sighed.

"Finish getting dressed," she murmured.

Zer0 nodded and stood up. It took seconds to unbutton his dress shirt and slip it onto the floor alongside his jacket, the cold air causing goosebumps to form. He rubbed his biceps in an attempt to warm up, but quit once he realized how futile it was. It took a few moments until he gained the keenness to start again, wanting to get out of his wet clothes as fast as possible. Quickly, he unbuckled his belt and let it slip to the floor with a dull _THUD!_.

He paused for a moment, feeling eyes trace the back of his shoulders. "Are you having fun watching?"

The burning feeling of someone staring at him slipped away as Athena seemed to let her gaze fall upon something else. A smirk formed on his face and he chuckled lowly, thumbs sticking into his belt loops and pulling the pants of his combat suit down. The air hit his thighs, knees, calves, and feet as he faintly struggled to pull the dripping garment off, finally deciding to kick it off once it became too much of a hassle to pull it off the rest of the way. Reaching down, he picked up the shorts and managed to wrestle them off, his damp skin causing the cotton material to stick to his legs. Leaning down once more, he gathered up his wet clothes and walked over to the table, Athena's eyes watching him as he set them atop of the surface.

"Done. Your turn, 'Thena." He looked back over to her, noticing the enticing look in her eyes. He cleared his throat and she blinked once, twice, and shook her head slightly.

"Sorry, what?"

Zer0 slowly approached her, eyes drifting from hers to the set aside clothes on the bed. Instead of walking directly over to her, he picked up the clothes and leaned down, catching her off guard as he caught her lips in a kiss. As usual, she lifted a hand to cradle his face, allowing him to drop her clothes into her lap without her noticing.

"Dress," he murmured before scooping Thanatos off her lap.

She looked up at him, slightly irritated, probably noticing the smirk on his face. Rolling her eyes, she stood up and brushed past him. He sat down on the bed and leaned over the small stalker, pulling him close to his chest, relishing the bit of the warmth that the creature provided.

Athena cleared her throat and he looked up. She stood by the table, hands reaching behind her, trying to reach for the small zipper on her dress. Zer0 raised an eyebrow and walked over, Thanatos resting into the crook of his left arm.

"This is ironic," he muttered into her ear as he reached her. "I mentioned this would happen. And look now: it did."

She shook her head, but he could notice the blush on her face and the tips of her ears. "Shut up and unzip me."

He chuckled and kissed the side of her head before reaching up to her shoulders and unzipping her dress. The zipper stopped halfway down her back, allowing it to finally be peeled off from her sides.

"I can get the rest, thanks," she said in gratitude.

Zer0 nodded, though he knew she couldn't see his face. He turned around and walked back to the bed, knees causing the springs to squeal as he set his weight on the bed, and laid down. Moving Thanatos onto his chest, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, a relaxed sigh escaping through his nose involuntarily. His muscles slackened and he could feel the heaviness of sleep creeping up on him.

It wasn't until he felt the side of the bed dip and a hand dragging through his wet hair slowly, blunt nails barely scratching his scalp in just the way he loved, that he opened his eyes. Athena laid beside him dressed in the sleepwear that he had provided. A grin was plastered on her face as she stared into his eyes. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, paused, then leaned down and placed one on his neck. This alone caused the smile to resurface on his face, a low rumbling chuckle resonating from his chest.

"What's so funny?" Athena asked.

"You," Zer0 answered bluntly.

She propped herself up on her forearm. "What's so funny about me?"

He shrugged, not even knowing why he found it hilarious. She retained an unamused and curious glint in her eyebrows before resting back down next to him, an arm slinging across his stomach while the other stayed trapped between them. With mastered practice, he slipped his free arm under her waist and around her back, pulling her closer to curve against his form… until a low, guttural growl - a snore - from Thanatos caused him to stop and almost burst out laughing.

"He's _snoring_," Athena told him, barely able to contain her own giggling. "I didn't know stalkers _could_ snore."

"We learned something new," Zer0 quipped, eyes pulling from hers and onto the stalker that was nestled comfortably on his chest, rising up and down with each inhale and exhale.

He could feel her smile against his neck and reach over to run her fingertips along Thanatos's scales, eliciting a whining sound to come from him as he craned his head back slightly in his sleep.

"Remember…" she drifted off for a few seconds. "Remember when we first got him? How he would fit into the palms of our hands?"

"And hid in the apartment?"

"Yeah, I do." Her hand stopped. "And how we almost didn't find him in Voracidous's cave?"

"You nearly crushed him." A dangerous look in her eyes caused him to swallow. "But you ended up not, though!"

Athena's gaze softened. "When we took him back, he almost ripped Axton's nose off."

"He is a fighter," Zer0 commented.

She nodded in satisfaction, smile gracing her lips. "Yeah, he is..."

They drifted off into silence, content with listening to the distant sounds of the storm outside. Despite the air conditioning, Zer0 felt rather relaxed and warm on the bed, entangled with Athena while Thanatos slept on his chest. Only when the slight shivering of the body next to him signaled her discomfort did he sit up, hold the stalker against his chest, and pull the covers from the foot of the bed over the three of them, tucking his arm back around her waist when he settled down.

"My bad," he murmured tiredly, eyes barely managing to stay open.

"Don't be. It's this apartment. The A.C.'s been broken for days."

He hummed in thought. The broken air conditioning had never been problematic enough for him to notice. His higher than normal body temperature, that Athena found to be both a gift and nuisance, canceled out the cold air that would have hit him, leaving him in a comfortable setting at all times. As he pondered this, another problem was brought to the front of his mind.

"This place is too small." He opened his eyes and stare into hers. "We need a new apartment."

"I was thinking the same thing," she agreed. "We need more room, _space_." She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked around their one room home. "It's already too small for the both of us. It'll be worse when Thanatos grows."

"I'll check with Lilith," he said.

She eyed him. "Promise?"

"First thing tomorrow."

"Good, good."

Athena laid her head back down and closed her eyes. He smiled and attempted to pull her closer, disregarding that she was most likely as close as could be. Leaning his head back against the pillow, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, savoring the oxygen in his lungs before exhaling slowly.

"Scratch that," he muttered before drifting off. "Need our armor first."

**Author's Note: Beta-read by CGAdam. With that, this story is complete. It's been fun writing this for the past few months, and I hope you've enjoyed it. Back to "Owl", now. Thank you so much for taking your time to read this.**


End file.
